Help Pls! Tomato branches falling off

9 years ago

Hi all - A few weeks ago I started to notice a marginal yellowing and necrosis on the lower leaves of my cherry tomatoes. It had been restricted to the lower leaves and although progressing I didnt think much of it. I did a round of Neem oil spray last week and that was it.

Earlier this evening i noticed that the leaves on the lower branches had gone from necrosis to wilting / dead. When i tried to remove the leaves the entire branch came off :( I had about 6 branches come off that way. One had even fallen by itself. I cut the branch open but seemed perfectly normal inside.

Any idea what this could be? Any and all help appreciated.

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Comments (17)

jean001a
9 years ago
Where are you growing them? Indoors or out?

What is the lowest temperature just before you saw the problem, and since then?
wes074
9 years ago
I have had that happen as well. The entire plant just up and dies, just like the picture. The plants next to them perfectly healthy, and even put a new tomato plant in it's place (container plant), and it grew up normal and healthy.
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digdirt2: Yes, have numerous times as has Carolyn, Mule and several others have both here and on Tomatoville (as you know gb) as it has also been discussed ad infinitem on that forum. And yet, nobody has actually provided a reference. And people keep calling it a "membrane" that "seals", even though an abscission zone is not a membrane and does not seal in tomato fruit. <The original research papers were out of Kansas State University AG research station I recall and have been referenced in hundreds of articles over the years. > And yet, nobody here or at tville has ever managed to point to an actual reference in any of these hundreds of articles. I find this odd. <The research is based on the changing chemical nature of the vasculature structure between the pedicle and the abscission zone of the fruit as they ripen.> I'm going to guess that you haven't actually read the article. I actually had a friend with access look up this article for me a year or two ago, and I read it. And the article is about how, in maturing tomato fruit, the xylem (water transport vasculature) decreases and all transport of wet and dry matter into a maturing tomato fruit is taken over by the phloem (dry matter transport vasculature). It says nothing about a stop to transport of dry matter into a tomato. It certainly says nothing to support the claim that ONLY water enters a tomato from color break until it's picked and its implications actually debunk that idea. <Many scientific studies: Tomato fruit abscission studies> Did you read your search results? They have nothing to do with the question at hand and most of them are about the no-joint gene variation in which an abscission zone never forms at all (lime green salad is a variety like this, for example). <Given all that research is commonly accepted then I don't understand why it is so hard to accept the same studies done on tomato fruit. But some are determined to not accept it. That is their choice but it doesn't make the research any less valid.> Commonly accepted by whom? The people I see claiming the "sealed membrane" are all either from tville or quoting people from tville. Can you point to an independent, scientific source that says this? Because I've looked a lot, and I can't find one. The accusation that people are only believing what they want to believe can be leveled in both directions. And when you look at the actual science, it doesn't back up the "sealed membrane" camp. The fact is, tomatoes continue to get both water and dry matter and volatile compounds from the plant up until at least the point of becoming table ripe. This is not up for debate--it has been shown. Whether most human beings can detect these changes in a fruit ripened to table ripe on the vine vs. in a fruit that was picked early and ripened off the vine is, as I've always said, an individual matter, and whether the average human cares enough about subtle differences is yet another individual matter. But the "sealed membrane" claim so far looks to be folklore, not science.
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labradors_gw
9 years ago
That's weird. You could check the stem around the soil-line. I've had stems with rot around them there, but the plants can be saved by cutting them off and re-rooting them.

Linda
jhamoud
Original Author
9 years ago
Hrmmmm.... what do you think of this guy. Could he be the culprit? I found 2 of them last week but cant seem to see any more of them. If it's a cutworm, could it be the reason the branches are breaking off?
labradors_gw
9 years ago
Don't cutworms usually operate at soil level? I've had them fell my tomato plants at the base, but they are usually young and tender because they do it right after I have planted them in the ground in the spring.

Linda
jhamoud
Original Author
9 years ago
Hrmm,,, the only other thing i could possibly think of that would cause leaf edges to become nectrotic and branches to drop (literally disconnecting from the main stem) would be a bacterial canker. Does that make any sense?

I did cut up the falling stems - they seem normal (at least color wise)
seysonn
9 years ago
Where are the experts ?

@jhamoud
The worm has nothing to do with your problem.
I had similar problem with a couple of my varieties this past season too. But the plants survived til the end of season but kept losing the lower leaf branches. So I am also very curious to know the cause of it

Seysonn
jhamoud
Original Author
9 years ago
Hoping more useful posts lead to solutions. Wondering if its a watering problem. Could a lack of water cause branches to drop off? Couple of things:

1 - I had recently (a week ago) transplanted Marigolds into the pot. They dont seem to be too happy either.
2 - the leaves that are necrotic are actually drying up along the edges. Could it be lack of water?
3 - leaves on the branch are dying - but when the branch drops off its entirely green
4 - i cant see any lesions that would indicate a fungus or a canker
jhamoud
Original Author
9 years ago
Just speaking of watering... here's a screenshot from my Parrot FlowerPower showing the moisture level over the past month.
seysonn
9 years ago
Now that you have not been able to diagnose the problem, I would suggest to go ahead and spray the plant with fungicide. I use Daconil or Neem Oil spray. It is recommended to do this routinely anyway. Repeat in another 10 to 15 days.
labradors_gw
9 years ago
Those Marigolds look sad - and thirsty! I see that you are battling fungus gnats, so maybe you are trying to allow the soil to dry out in order to get rid of them? There are some products like Gnatol that apparently work. I HATE fungus gnats!

Linda
TheTexasWingnut
9 years ago
"Hoping more useful posts lead to solutions." More useful from us or you? More useful posts will come from us if they first come from you. If you answer the questions asked of you so we can have more information, we might be able to help you more.
jhamoud
Original Author
9 years ago
Hey all - thanks for the replies.

@thetexaswingnut - those useful posts were from me to you... the additional pictures of the plant and watering schedule - hoping they would help everyone potentially come up with the diagnosis. Any thoughts from you side?

@seysonn - thanks for that. I did a neem spray over the weekend - hoping for the best. will probably give it another round this weekend. I'm using 10ml of Neem oil in 1000 ML of water. Sound right?

@labradors - the marigolds died despite the watering. VERY odd. Was actually wondering if whatever got to the Marigolds is what got to the cucumbers of they just didnt like being transplanted there (they're a week old into the pot with the tomato). Fungus gnatts... ekh.. ya.. those sticky strips have helped. Just got some BT and hoping that helps as well. Could the larvae chewing on the roots have had a negative effect on the tomatos?

Totally lost... and hoping for the best. Any ideas one what can turn these leaves necrotic and cause the branches to just drop would be greatly appreciated.
labradors_gw
9 years ago
I'm no expert, but if the marigolds croaked as well (despite being watered), perhaps you have some questionable potting mix?

I wish I knew more about F. gnat damage. Of course they do chew the roots, and can be a danger to small seedlings, but your plants look big enough that they should be able to resist.

Hoping that someone can give you some answers.

Linda
jhamoud
Original Author
9 years ago
Hi All - any chance this could be bacterial canker? I cant see any cankers on the stems. I've split open the branches that have fallen off but cant see any discoloration inside...
seysonn
9 years ago
@seysonn - thanks for that. I did a neem spray over the weekend - hoping for the best. will probably give it another round this weekend. I'm using 10ml of Neem oil in 1000 ML of water. Sound right?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Are you using pure Neem Oil ?. Does it come with instruction ?
I have a concentrate, that has about 75% Neem + 25% other stuff. I mix about one Table Spoon in a Gallon : That is roughly 7 ml in 1000 ml.
Can you tell us where you are ? In USA? In Australia ? What are your temperatures? How many hours of sun your plant gets ? What is the variety ? AND can you post a picture of the whole plant ?What kind of soil you are using ? Does the container have good drain holes ?

Seysonn
Jennie Sims
9 years ago
jhamoud, this summer I had one plant who's leaves looked identical to yours in the first picture. However, the branches didn't fall off when green, but rather just turned dark and dried up like the leaves. I posted pictures and requested help diagnosing it. I was told it was Grey Mold. It did not have the fuzzy mold spores like in the pictures, so I wasn't sure that was the right diagnosis. But whatever it was, it spread to the plant next to it and both lost tons of leaves and branches despite spraying with a fungicide and religiously picking off the affected branches and leaves. It hit mid summer, so I still got a really good harvest before I pulled them in the fall. Wish I could help you further. Jennie

Help Pls! Tomato branches falling off

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